Family Law Blog
Colorado Attorneys - Kaplan Law, LLC
When Should Grandparents’ Rights Take Priority Over a Birth Parent’s?
By Denver Divorce Lawyer on August 18, 2010
In many cases involving child custody and visitation rights, grandparents are not often looked at as the best possible guardians/caregivers for a child. However, this isn’t true of every case. In many instances, grandparents not only house and care for a grandchild, but are the closet parental figure that the child has in his or her life. Ohio’s Dayton Daily News recently highlighted an interesting story in regard to grandparents’ rights, which asks the question of whether or not grandparents’ wishes should be cast aside simply because a child’s birth parent decides to do so.
The article, involving an 8-year-old girl, discusses a custody case between the girl’s birth father and her maternal grandparents. Reportedly, after a tragic car accident took the life of the girl’s mother, the father, who had previously only seen his daughter sparingly, took it upon himself to ask the girl’s grandparents, whom the young girl and her late mother lived with, if it would be okay to resume visitation with his daughter. The grandparents agreed, particularly since they felt it best that their granddaughter connect with her only living parent. However, the girl’s father soon cut off visitation between the girl and her grandparents, which didn’t resume until a court ordered that her grandparents were entitled to care for and see her every other weekend.
All cases of child custody are different. In some cases, grandparents assume a more traditional role, in which they may not be as involved in the actual upbringing of the child. However, other cases indicate that a child’s grandparents may actually be the child’s primary caregiver. Regardless of the circumstances, it is important that all details are thoroughly examined in any child custody case, particularly in regard to grandparents’ rights.
For more information about grandparents’ rights, get in touch with the Colorado family law attorneys at Kaplan Law, LLC. Call 1-877-527-5206 today to speak with an experienced Denver grandparents’ rights attorney.
